Nearly a century after Alzheimer’s disease was first identified, there has been no foolproof way to diagnose the illness in a living patient. But a new method used by doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas is almost 100 percent accurate when combined with clinical assessment.
Testing blood flow in a specific region of the brain may boost the degree of diagnostic certainty in difficult cases from 90 percent to almost 100 percent, said Dr. Frederick Bonte, director of the Nuc
Ecology and environmental management is largely predicated on the view that ecosystems respond to environmental changes in a smooth and straightforward way. However, in Ecology Letters, May, Schmitz reports on a long-term field experiment that may prompt a hard, critical look at this reigning view. In the experimental system, top predators instrumentally control species diversity and productivity of the ecosystem. This control comes about by causing herbivores to feed on and suppress the abundance of
Traditional fishing techniques are destroying some of the world’s finest coral reefs, according to new research which has major implications for international marine conversation management strategies.
Until now commercial fishing was believed to pose the greatest risk to reefs, which are found in more than 100 countries and cover almost 300,000 square kilometres.
However, a British research team has found the comparatively minor disruption to the marine environment by subsistence
A drug that suppresses the immune system delays the onset of AIDS in patients with HIV, according to a study published this week in BMC Medicine. Prednisolone, taken without any antiviral therapy, postponed the loss of T-cells that leads to AIDS in 50% of HIV sufferers by between 2 and 10 years.
HIV leads to a complex disorder that combines an initial chronic activation of the immune system with a progressive decrease in the number of CD4+ T cells, which are involved in the immune response.
A groundbreaking initiative that could lead to the development of longer-lasting consumer goods is under way in the UK
The research network will focus on how cars, furniture, clothes, household appliances and other consumer products can be made more durable. Until now, little research has been carried out in this area, even though increased product durability would help to conserve the Earth’s resources and minimise waste.
The aim is to promote the exchange of ideas between
Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a computer technique that “learns” how benign and malignant breast calcifications appear on digital mammograms so not only can it detect them, but it can also predict the likelihood that the calcifications are associated with cancer.
“In this study, we analyzed 49 full-field digital mammograms, 19 of which showed cancer,” said Rich Rana, a medical student at the University of Chicago. Four mammography specialists read the images and ele
PACS can increase radiologists’ productivity by nearly 40% in a community teaching hospital, allowing for more patient examinations without increasing physician staffing, a new study shows.
Productivity data before PACS implementation at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA, was compared to data after the facility had converted 100% to a fully digital PACS system. Patient volume increased from 102% for CT, 66% for MRI, 36% for ultrasound, 32% for special procedures and 23% for
Improvements in sexual desire, mood, lean body mass and bone density sustained in 3-1/2 year study
Long-term use of AndroGel® (testosterone gel 1% CIII) is safe and effective for men with hypogonadism, a condition sometimes referred to as low testosterone, according to a new study published today in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The study, the first to examine safety and efficacy of testosterone gel up to 42 months, was conducted at multiple rese
An important aspect of human vision is the ability to attend to objects or events appearing in our peripheral vision without shifting our gaze. This way of effectively looking out of the corner of the mind’s eye is thought to be particularly important for alerting us to danger. Researchers have made the seemingly paradoxical discovery that even though eye movement itself is actually dispensable for such an attention shift, eye muscle function is nevertheless required for this ability to reflexiv
In mammals, the endogenous daily pacemaker that regulates circadian rhythms like sleep and wakefulness is localized to a defined site in the brain, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is composed of many neurons whose circadian activities are in synchrony with one another. By exposing rats to a very short day/night schedule – a regimen that effectively pushes the limits of the SCN’s ability to set the clock to day length – researchers have discovered within the SCN two sub-clocks that norma
In a finding that broadens our understanding of how the immune system can detect infection, researchers have identified a previously unappreciated way in which bacteria can be recognized inside our cells.
Many bacteria cause disease by invading cells and creating a safe niche in which to replicate. Cells respond to the infection by activating the immune system, and a chief challenge for bacteria is to avoid immune detection. Prior research had shown that bacteria inside the cytosol (the cel
In a finding that deepens our understanding of epigenetic regulation, researchers at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology in Vienna have identified a novel protein in Arabidopsis that may help so-called short guide RNAs and silencing effector proteins target specific DNA sequences for modification.
The ’nuclear side’ of RNA interference (RNAi) is increasingly recognized as an important part of RNA-mediated gene silencing pathways. Short RNAs and proteins of the R
Findings published in current issue of Nature Cell Biology
Adult stem cell transplantation offers great therapeutic potential for a variety of diseases due to their ability to replenish diseased cells and tissue. While they are unique in this ability, it remains a challenge to effectively treat disease long-term with stem cells because of our inability to grow them in the laboratory. Defining the molecular switch in the stem cell replication process, or cell cycle, is a key step to st
For those with type 2 diabetes, the most prevalent kind, a person’s eating habits — their basic eating practices, selections while dining out, meal planning and carbohydrate and vegetable strategies — matter as much or more as medicine for maintaining blood sugar control, says a Penn State researcher.
Dr. Carla Miller, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, says, “Our recent study identified 15 common underlying food habits related to blood sugar control that people with diabete
Depression is common among opiate users and may serve as a trigger for high-risk drug injection practices, continued drug use, and relapse. Research has shown that individuals with co-occurring depression and substance use are less likely to complete treatment and have poorer prognoses after traditional treatment. However, scientists at the Brown University School of Medicine demonstrated that multisession, combination antidepressant therapy successfully reduced depression in active injection drug us
A study designed to assess the usefulness of a single session of motivational interviewing in drug abuse treatment showed that the single session of the psychotherapy technique had no effect on drug use outcomes. However, results of a subsequent analysis suggest that the therapist may have pressed for change before the individual was ready.
Motivational interviewing is designed to strengthen a person’s commitment to changing their behavior by focusing on such factors as desire, self-ef
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